Updates, advisories and surprises

(5:00 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tesla Motors
TSLA, -0.94%
reported its first-ever quarterly net profit late Wednesday and its first three-month period of positive cash flow. The maker of the Model S electric car maker earned $11.2 million. On an adjusted basis, Tesla said it earned 12 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected a loss of 1-cent a share. Revenue was $562 million. Gross margin was 17%. Cash flow from operations was $64 million. For 2013, Tesla raised its Model S delivery forecast to 21,000 vehicles, up from 20,000. Tesla shares have been on a tear this year, zooming 65% higher even as bets against the stock gaining in value remain at a historically high level. Shares jumped 13% to $63.50 in after-hours trade.

Activision falls on 'Warcraft' decline, forecast

(4:19 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Activision Blizzard Inc.
ATVI, -1.28%
slid 5% in after-hours trading on Wednesday afternoon after the videogame publisher said subscribers to its popular "World of Warcraft" online game fell by 1.3 million during the first quarter. The company made the disclosure in its earnings report for the period, which still beat Wall Street's expectations thanks to a strong debut of "Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm," a PC game from the company's Blizzard unit. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement that the drop in "Warcraft" subscribers was "mainly from the East, but in the West as well." The company's forecast of $590 million in adjusted revenue for the second quarter was also below the $601 million projected by analysts, according to FactSet. The stock closed the regular session up 2.1% to $15.26 and is up more than 44% since the first of the year.

News Corp. third-quarter profit jumps to $2.85 bln

(4:18 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- News Corp.
NWS, -1.06%NWSA, -1.29%
said late Wednesday that its fiscal third-quarter earnings rose to $2.85 billion, or $1.22 a share, from $937 million, or 38 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, News Corp. would have reported earnings of 36 cents a share. Revenue increased to $9.54 billion from $8.4 billion last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected quarterly earnings of 35 cents a share on revenue of $9.14 billion. Shares of News Corp. rose 1.8% to $32.56 in after-hours activity. The media conglomerate is the parent company of Dow Jones & Co., the publisher of The Wall Street Journal and MarketWatch.

Green Mt. lifts outlook, inks Starbucks K-Cup deal

(4:18 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
GMCR, -1.96%
late Wednesday reported a fiscal second-quarter profit that handily topped Wall Street expectations and raised its profit outlook for a third time in the last six months. It also inked a new five-year agreement with Starbucks
SBUX, -1.33%
to license K-Cups. Profit was $132.4 million, or 87 cents a share, up from $93 million, or 58 cents a share, in the same 2012 period. Sales rose 14% to $1 billion. Gross margin rose to 41.3% from 35.4%. On an adjusted basis, Green Mountain said it made 93 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet had forecast a profit of 73 cents a share on sales of $1 billion. Green Mountain raised its fiscal 2013 outlook to a profit of $3.05 to $3.15 a share, up from $2.72 to $2.82. The company also increased its free cash flow forecast, while cutting its capital expenditures outlook. Green Mountain shares have surged 42% year-to-date, outpacing the 14% gain for the S&P 500. Shares were halted in after-hours trade.

Groupon cuts loss as sales rise 7.5%

(4:11 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Groupon Inc.
GRPN, -2.96%
on Wednesday reported a first-quarter loss of $4 million, or a penny a share, on revenue of $601.4 million, compared with a loss of $11.7 million, or 2 cents a share, on $559.3 million in sales in the same period a year ago. Excluding one-time items, Groupon would have earned 3 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast the online daily deal company to earn 3 cents a share on $591.3 million in sales. Groupon also reported quarterly gross billings of $1.41 billion, and forecast second-quarter revenue in a range of $575 million to $625 million. Analysts had earlier forecast Groupon's second-quarter revenue at $616.7 million. Groupon's shares rose 12% in after-hours trading following the release of the company's results.

Activision earnings rise, beating estimates

(4:07 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Activision Blizzard Inc. posted a strong rise in adjusted first-quarter earnings on Wednesday afternoon, beating Wall Street's estimates. For the period ended March 31, Activision
ATVI, -1.28%
reported net income of $456 million, or 40 cents per share, compared to net income of $384 million, or 33 cents a share, for the same period last year. Revenue rose $1.32 billion from $1.17 billion from last year. Adjusted for deferred revenues from certain games, the company said it would have earned 17 cents per share on revenue of $804 million. Analysts were expecting adjusted earnings of 11 cents per share on adjusted revenue of $705 million, according to consensus forecast from FactSet. The company said the key driver for the quarter was "Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm" from its Blizzard unit.

Zillow shares fall 10% on mixed quarterly results

(9:57 AM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Zillow Inc.
Z, -1.61%
saw its shares fall more than 10%, to $56.51 Wednesday, after the online real estate information company reported mixed first-quarter results. Late Tuesday, Zillow posted a first-quarter loss of 11 cents a share, on revenue of $39 million. Wall Street analysts had forecast Zillow to lose 14 cents a share on $37.4 million in sales. However, Zillow also swung to a loss after reporting earnings of 6 cents a share in the year-ago quarter. The company said its results were impacted by rising sales and marketing costs, which more than doubled from a year ago to $19.8 million.

EA jumps to 52-week high on full-year outlook

(9:44 AM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Electronic Arts Inc.
EA, -1.10%
jumped more than 12% to $20.64 -- setting a new 52-week high -- after the videogame publisher issued an earnings forecast for the full 2014 fiscal year that was ahead of Wall Street's expectations. The forecast came on Tuesday afternoon. EA said it expects to keep its operating costs flat in the current year, as higher spending to develop games for the new up-coming Xbox and PlayStation consoles is offset by cost reductions elsewhere. Doug Creutz of Cowen & Co. called the forecast "a bit of a shocker to us" and wrote in a note to clients that "we think this is a clear signal that EA is finally serious about driving margins meaningfully higher."

AOL Q1 profit rises on advertising growth

(7:21 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - AOL Inc.
AOL, +0.46%
reported its first-quarter profit rose 23% to $25.9 million, or 32 cents a share, from $21.1 million, or 22 cents a share, a year earlier. Adjusted operating income in the first quarter was $105.3 million versus $93.8 million. Revenue rose to $538.3 million, from $529.4 million a year earlier, the media and technology company said Wednesday. Analysts had expected earnings of 44 cents a share on revenue of $541 million, according to FactSet. AOL grew its advertising business 9% year-over-year but lost 9% of its subscription revenue, the company said. Shares in AOL were down 0.41% in premarket trading.

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